Data Dystopia: Dave Eggers Discusses Digital Human Rights

In this episode of "Technically Human," I talk to author Dave Eggers about his novel The Circle. We discuss the growth of digital tracking, the evolution of Silicon Valley culture, and the idea that people under surveillance are not free. Dave discusses the role and of and possibilities for art, literature, and satire in creating change, and he tells me why he is optimistic about the next generation of students creating powerful, lasting change.

Dave Eggers is the author of The Circle, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, What is the What, A Hologram for the King, and The Lifters, among many other books.

He is the founder of McSweeney’s, which publishes literature, satire, and "Voice of Witness," a nonprofit book series that uses oral history to illuminate human rights crises around the world.

Eggers is the co-founder of 826 National, a network of youth writing and tutoring centers around the United States. Realizing the need for greater college access for low-income students, Eggers founded ScholarMatch, a nonprofit organization designed to connect students with resources, schools and donors to make college possible.

McSweeneys: https://www.mcsweeneys.net/pages/about-dave-eggers

ScholarMatch:https://scholarmatch.org/

826National: https://826national.org/